UK to start regulating e-cigarettes as medicines

Associated Press

Associated Press

Published 3:52 pm, Wednesday, June 12, 2013

A person poses with an electronic cigarette, or e-cigarette, Wednesday June 12, 2013, after it was announced that Britain will start regulating electronic cigarettes as medicines, according to the country's top regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. E-cigarettes are battery-operated products that turn nicotine into a vapor that is inhaled by the user, and the new regulations coming into force from 2016 will control products containing nicotine as medications, but normal cigarettes are exempt from the regulation. (AP Photo / Tim Ireland, PA) UNITED KINGDOM OUT - NO SALES - NO ARCHIVES

LONDON — Britain will start regulating electronic cigarettes and other products containing nicotine as medicines, according to the country's top regulator.

E-cigarettes are battery-operated products that turn nicotine into a vapor inhaled by the user.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said in a statement Wednesday it would treat e-cigarettes as medicines, "so that people using these products have the confidence they are safe, are of the right quality and work."

E-cigarettes and other nicotine products will be licensed in the U.K. from 2016, giving manufacturers time to ensure their products comply with all standards for medicines. The U.K. regulator says e-cigarettes aren't recommended for use until then, but it won't ban them entirely.

"While it's best to quit completely, I realize that not every smoker can and it is much better to get nicotine from safer sources such as nicotine replacement therapy," Britain's chief medical officer, Sally Davies, said in a statement. "It's only right (e-cigarettes) are properly regulated to be safe and work effectively."